1. Field of said Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for remote maintenance, and more particularly to a method and system that performs remote maintenance of computer peripherals such as printers, scanners, and so-called multi-function peripherals (MFPs).
2. Discussion of the Background
A so-called remote maintenance system has been developed for facsimile apparatuses and is capable of performing facsimile apparatus maintenance by use of a remote control operation. Generally, the remote maintenance system for the facsimile apparatus consists of a master computer located at a remote service depot for controlling the entire remote maintenance operation and a plurality of user systems, which are typically facsimile apparatuses located at user sites. The master computer and the user systems are linked via one or more private lines. In addition, the remote maintenance system uses specific facsimile communication protocols to enable the master computer to transmit a maintenance instruction to the designated facsimile apparatus, over the private lines. The remote maintenance system has been taking on an important role in facsimile apparatus maintenance by performing fault diagnosis, engineering change, and so forth.
In the field of computer peripherals, a so-called multi-function peripheral apparatus (MFP) has recently been developed to provide in one unit various functions performed by conventional single-function office machines such as a scanner, a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine, for example. Connecting a digital copying machine, having both scanning and printing capabilities already therein, to a personal computer (PC) is one of the basic development ideas of the MFP. Obviously, the MFP based on the digital copying machine may be capable of performing various functions such as, for example, scanning, printing, copying, and so forth, and may even function as a facsimile apparatus if a facsimile controller and associated parts are additionally provided in the MFP.
As a recent trend, many of the aforementioned office machines including the MFP and other conventional single-function office machines have been arranged to store identification and control information in an erasable and programmable memory rather than in a read only memory which allows only one time data writing. This is simply to provide the capability of erasing and reprogramming the data. Generally, the stored identification and control information includes a model and version of the machine, a history of engineering changes that have been performed, and various programmed parameters for adjusting a machine condition, error statuses, and so forth. For example, the model and version of the machine may include various statuses, such as a machine configuration, a destination country for representing a required power source and a linguistic requirement, and so forth, so as to specify the exact type of machine.
Storing the identification and control information in an erasable and programmable memory provides advantages to a user and a maker of the apparatus. In many cases, maintenance can be performed just by reading and/or writing the aforementioned identification and control information into memory. The identification and control information can be referred to as maintenance data for the sake of clarity. More specifically, when a user desires to set the machine at an arbitrary condition beyond the normally adjustable range, it may be achieved by changing appropriate portions of the programmed parameters included in the maintenance data. For example, in a case of printers, when a user needs to produce an output with an extremely dark print which is darker than the normally adjustable level of darkness, the machine can be adjusted to the desired condition by changing appropriate portions of the programmed parameters. In such a way, many of the MFP and other conventional single-function office machines can be adjusted since the functions, such as scanning, printing, copying, and facsimile communication, are controlled by the respective programmed parameters for adjusting their operating conditions.
If maintenance is performed just by reading and/or writing the maintenance data as described above, remote maintenance may be applied in a way similar to the aforementioned remote maintenance system for the facsimile apparatus. However, the remote maintenance system used for the facsimile apparatus is not necessarily appropriate for computer peripherals such as the MFP and the conventional single-function peripheral apparatus. A reason is that the specific requirements of the remote maintenance system for the facsimile apparatus, such as the private line, facsimile communication protocols, and so forth, are not technologies commonly used by most computer peripherals.
As described above, presently, there is no remote maintenance system for computer peripherals.